What if the tuck rule never happened

Brady is looked upon as a QB who can't win the big games, coach Bill Belichick ends up getting released by New England in and ends up coaching the Jets like he should have, before he ditched them at the last second. Brady eventually gets to the Super Bowl in his 15th and final year, but the Patriots lose by the same play that scarred Tom Brady's career from the start.

That is eventually erased by the NFL, and has never been used, in any play, in any game, ever again. If you have any ideas for my What If? Enjoy our content? Join our newsletter to get the latest in sports news delivered straight to your inbox! Even when the Jets do something right, they screw themselves and everyone else. Brady played exceptionally well for the Patriots and started a Divisional Playoff game against the Raiders, who were among the most dominant forces in the AFC at the time.

This seemingly secured a road playoff win for Oakland. Incomplete pass. The Patriots would later win the game as Adam Vinatieri kicked an absurd overtime field goal in the snow. Before I get to the impact this one single play had on the rest of the league, I want to talk about how it affected the Raiders. This was, until last year, the last game Jon Gruden would coach in the Silver and Black.

Oakland traded him to the Buccaneers , hired Bill Callahan as coach, and made the Super Bowl the next year They lost. And from that point until , the Raiders did not make the playoffs once. Oakland became the laughingstock of the NFL. Had the Tuck Rule been ruled a fumble, the Raiders would have almost certainly beaten the Steelers the following week and the Super Bowl against the Rams might have been an all-time classic.

Brady and the Patriots went on to win the Super Bowl against the St. Louis Rams , , on -- you guessed it -- a game-winning field goal by Vinatieri. The tuck rule was abolished by a vote in , but what if the rule had never existed in the first place? What would that mean for the Patriots and the Raiders?

Here's a look at a few possibilities. The Super Bowl win was the first for the Patriots, who went on to win two more titles over the next three years, and one more in Bill Belichick, Brady and Co. But what if they lose that game against the Raiders?

If the Tuck Rule wasn't made the Pats lose in in the divisional round, one and done. Provided that happens the same way they miss the playoffs then. Between the 3 years of Belichick, they'd have two missed playoffs and one, one and done.

Is it possible Belichick would have gotten fired? And if he were, would he get another HC job after getting fired twice? Is it possible that the entire dynasty rests on that one call?

They won 3 out of 4 Super Bowls starting with that run. You have to imagine Belichick would have been able to win some eventually, but a home loss like that would have changed things I think.

Do you think the Niner dynasty goes down the same way without The Catch? Certainly the Niners had 4th and 3 to keep going, but in this context you can see why such a big deal was made about the play. I'll also throw in Scott Norwood with Wide Right.